Coroner denies theory Gabby Petito was pregnant

Online rumours have wrongly suggested that vlogger was with child when she was killed

The Wyoming coroner who performed the autopsy on Gabby Petito has denied a theory that she was pregnant before her death.

Dr Brent Blue, the coroner of Teton County, told reporters on Tuesday that Ms Petito’s death was caused by strangulation.

The coroner rejected the idea that Ms Petito was pregnant at the time of her death as online rumours have wrongly suggested that she was with child.

The vlogger’s remains were found at a campsite near Grand Teton national park in Wyoming on 19 September and Dr Blue estimated that she had died around three to four weeks before her body was discovered. He said that the body was “in the wilderness” while she was missing.

The 22-year-old’s fiance, Brian Laundre, remains on the run and is a person of interest in the investigation of Ms Petito’s death. He’s not currently considered a suspect.

The Laundrie family lawyer, Steve Bertolino, issued a statement following the announcement of the results of the autopsy.

“Gabby Petito’s death at such a young age is a tragedy,” he said. “While Brian Laundrie is currently charged with the unauthorized use of a debit card belonging to Gabby, Brian is only considered a person of interest in relation to Gabby Petito’s demise.”

“At this time Brian is still missing and when he is located we will address the pending fraud charge against him,” Mr Bertolino added.

Mr Laundrie and Ms Petito moved to Florida two years ago after meeting in New York. They were about two months into a four-month cross country road trip to visit national parks when Ms Petito disappeared around 27 August.

He returned to Florida on 1 September without notifying the authorities or Ms Petito’s family that she was missing.

Neighbours said he appeared to act “without a care in the world” after coming back. Ms Petito’s mother reported her daughter missing on 11 September, claiming that she had received no information about Ms Petito’s location from Mr Laundrie or his family for 10 days.

Mr Laundrie reportedly disappeared on 14 September after telling his parents that he was going hiking on Carlton Reserve. He was reported missing three days later.

After four weeks, the search for Mr Laundrie has been unsuccessful beyond a few possible sightings. There’s a warrant out for his arrest following allegations of bank fraud after he supposedly used Ms Petito’s debit card to spend around $1,000.